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The United States has recently clarified that it will grant US visit visas to Indian nationals who have passports with a validity period of 20 years. The Indian media had reported previously that the US would not grant visas to passports that were valid for periods of 20 years. It was also reported that Indian nationals who had US visas in their 20-year passports would be refused entry into the US.
According to reports, Indian nationals had begun to exchange their 20-year passports for 10-year passports.
The Indian government only recently began increasing the validity period of some passports to 20 years. News reports say that this led to misuse of US visas within those passports; the US consulate grants B-category visas for up to five or ten years, and some people sold their passports to people who more or less look like them. There were also reports of selling passports belonging to people who had died. However, the US consulate has stated it will grant visas to passports that are valid for 20 years.
